Ponds and woods restored for wildlife in Shropshire

Through the Farming in Protected Landscapes funding programme, the Shropshire Hills National Landscape team has been able to support farmers to deliver bigger projects to benefit the Shropshire Hills landscape.

In the Clee Hills area, a project across five farms is creating or restoring 14 ponds and associated wooded habitats for wildlife, including great crested newts.  A survey is assessing the connectivity and condition of habitat corridors connecting the ponds and identifying target areas for future habitat work.

In the Upper Onny, the team has funded water audits on 12 farms to guide future water management for both the farm business and environment, helping the farmers to make good land management decisions to improve water quality in local rivers and streams, water resource mitigation works and watercourse protection and restoration opportunities.

Birds of conservation concern are also benefitting from a project on boundary land between two farms, with wide belts of new habitat fenced to provide barn owls with grassland for hunting and to create habitat for redstarts. Nest and roost boxes have been installed, a bird nest camera set up, and hedgerows are being restored.